A federal appeals court has slapped down a lower court’s injunction that restricted the use of force by immigration agents in Chicago, ruling that the district judge had improperly made her court an overseer of executive branch operations in the city.
The decision stems from ongoing legal battles over “Operation Midway Blitz,” an immigration enforcement initiative in the Chicago area that has sparked large protests and riots.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, who was appointed by Barack Obama, had issued multiple orders limiting agents’ tactics, including the use of tear gas and absurdly requiring daily court appearances by Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino.
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling on Thursday, overturned Ellis’s injunction, describing it as “constitutionally suspect” and criticizing the dismissal of the underlying lawsuit.
The case originated from a class action lawsuit filed in October by protesters, journalists, and religious leaders against Department of Homeland Security officials, including Bovino.
Plaintiffs alleged First Amendment violations, Fourth Amendment violations arising from the use of excessive force, and other claims related to the protests.
Ellis granted a preliminary injunction on November 6, restricting riot control weapons like tear gas unless there was an immediate threat, mandating body cameras, and requiring visible identification for agents, a dangerous demand given that the left has been working hard to dox and harass ICE agents and their families.
The activist judge also accused Bovino of lying under oath about what happened during the protests, including his claim that he was hit by a rock before deploying tear gas in Little Village.
The appeals court had previously intervened, staying Ellis’s order for daily reports from Bovino in October and halting the preliminary injunction in November, calling it “overbroad” and an infringement on separation of powers.
In January, the plaintiffs moved to dismiss the lawsuit after agents were withdrawn, but Ellis expressed concerns about dismissing the lawsuit due to ongoing enforcement threats and a related shooting in Minneapolis.
The Chicago Tribune reports:
The majority was particularly critical of Ellis for dismissing the lawsuit “without prejudice” even though the parties didn’t ask for it, leaving the door open for plaintiffs to refile the case at some point down the road.
“Because the district court dismissed this case without prejudice — against the plaintiffs’ unopposed request for a dismissal with prejudice — any class members or the lead plaintiffs could refile these claims tomorrow,” the majority opinion stated. “They could ask the district court to reinstate a near-identical preliminary injunction, adopting the facts and legal reasoning from the district court’s order.”
The majority opinion said they “can help avoid that pitfall by vacating the order that depends on these conclusions.”
Bovino was reassigned the next month.
The new ruling by the 7th Circuit vacated the injunction after the lawsuit’s dismissal.
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